Snow YAY! But....

I live in an area of Washington that actually gets less rain per year than Los Angeles. We have a ton of gray overcast days, but as far as actual rain it's minimal. We also tend to get very little snow in the winter. This is funny because it is so typical of people in this area.

Nutella banana trifle

If you are supposed to bring a dessert somewhere and want to impress the pants off everyone, try making a trifle! The traditional way is to layer custard, preserves, cake, fruit, etc. Usually it's pound cake with vanilla custard, strawberry preserves, maybe some banana. But, you can use whatever you like! My favorite favorite flavor combo in the world is Nutella banana.... so here is a recipe for that. If you have the time, I recommend making your own custard, whipping your own cream, etc. BUT, this is going to be the quick and dirty way and it tastes wonderful! Ingredients: One chocolate cake mix, prepared according to directions 2 boxes vanilla instant pudding, 2 cups milk 2 boxes banana instant pudding, 2 cups milk 1 large container of cool whip, divided 2 cups Nutella 4 ripe bananas, sliced Bake cake, and allow to cool completely. Cut into bite sized pieces. Over a double boiler, melt Nutella. Prepare banana pudding according to directions, and place in fridge. Prepare vanilla pudding according to directions. After it has been stirred for 2 minutes, temper in half of the melted Nutella, while whisking the ENTIRE time. I can not stress this enough. You have to temper (add it in slowly) and stir or else it will seize and make a gross unusable mess. After it is all mixed in, you should have Nutella pudding. Place into fridge. Now, temper the other half of the melted Nutella into half of the cool whip. Again, slow and steady WHILE whisking. Place into fridge. After the pudding is soft set (about 5-10 minutes) you can assemble the trifle. Just start layering, I do cake pieces, banana pudding, bananas, Nutella pudding, cake, plain cool whip, Nutella pudding, cake, banana pudding, bananas, Nutella cool whip, then cake crumbs, but really the order doesn't matter. I try to make sure the slices of bananas are between two pudding layers to keep them from browning. After it is assembled, place into fridge, and keep it there until serving. This will help the pudding to finish setting. I baked the cake and mixed the puddings in the morning, and then assembled it all 10 minutes before dinner. It stayed in the fridge during dinner, and when I brought it out after everyone ooooohed and aaaaaahed. Enjoy! Eat what you want the first time, because there will not be leftovers!

Ready for a change....

So the Romneys are selfish for keeping a horse? And employing a groom with a family to support. And paying for feed that’s sold by someone with a family to support and transported in trucks by someone with a family to support and manufactured in a factory by people with families to support from stuff that’s grown by farmers with families to support. And having a barn built by construction workers with families to support with materials trucked by drivers with families to support from factories with workers with families to support. Sounds to me like that one horse has done more to put Americans to work than that horse’s ass in the White House. I'm not saying Mitt Romney is the perfect candidate. I do think he is better than the other options. I created this on Obamiconme.com because it amused me. Please feel free to comment, even if you disagree, but any Mormon bashing or other comments I find inappropriate will be deleted. Follow me on Pinterest!

Vegan curried butternut squash soup

I do Bountiful Baskets so frequently I get to make up or modify recipes based on what produce I have on hand. I have made butternut squash soup before, but with how I tweaked it this time, it turned out SO good. The problem is, sometimes I forget what I did to make it different, so this time I'm posting and pinning it so I can find it again. This is my own recipe, and while it may not have started out 100% original, I feel I've tweaked it enough to still call it 'mine.' Enjoy! Ingredients: *1 Yellow Onion *1 Butternut Squash *2 Apples (I use granny smith) *4 Carrots *1 can Coconut Milk *1 tbsp of Curry Powder *1 tbsp of Cinnamon *1 tbsp of Ground Cloves *1 tbsp of Red Pepper flakes *Raw Ginger, to taste *1 to 2 tbsp Olive Oil *Apple juice, as needed Directions: (You will need a masher or an immersion/hand blender) Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Once the squash has softened, cut into two inch chunks. You can remove the skin if you choose to, however it is edible. (I leave it on.) Place into crock pot. Peel the carrots and ginger and quarter the apples. Place into crock pot with enough juice to just cover vegetables. Add spices, raw ginger, and coconut milk to crock pot. Dice the onion and saute it with the curry powder in olive oil until translucent. Deglaze pan with a few tbsps of water/stock/juice. Add it all to the crock pot. Just before serving, use a hand masher or immersion blender to puree the vegetables. I like to serve it topped with vegan sour cream and chopped cilantro. You can adjust the spices/ginger to make it more/less spicy, based on your preference. Follow me on Pinterest!

Baptism gift

My friend's son was baptized recently and since this is the time of year to get sparklers, I made this cute little gift. The tag says "Thanks for being such a 'sparkling' example of 'chewsing' the right!" I thought it was pretty cute! Follow me on Pinterest!

Flip flop wreath

I have seen several flip flop wreaths on Pinterest lately. This is my take on it!

**Tip** Instead of using a wreath form that can cost $4.99 or more, I used a piece of foam pipe insulation from Home Depot. It cost $0.97, and it is 6 feet long so you can cut it in half and make 2 wreaths! I secure the ends with duct tape, and voila! Follow me on Pinterest!

Where have I been?

I am wondering why I have not posted in so long. I have been making projects, just been too busy to show ya =) Here is the one I made today.

It looks complicated, but I promise it isn't. I {of course} forgot to take pictures as I went, but here are the super simple directions. 1. Buy 1 large (9-12 inch) terra cotta pot and 6-7 smaller (6 inch) terra cotta pots, soil, flowers, and 1 4-6 ft piece of rebar. 2. Paint them your desired color(s). (Though leaving them plain would be fine too!) 3. If you used acrylic paint, I recommend sealing them with clear spray paint, diamond coat, or brushing with mod podge. 4. When the paint is COMPLETELY dry, ( I recommend overnight) start by pushing the rebar into the ground. I recommend buying the 6 foot piece and sinking it about two feet, but if you can only find 4 foot, that works too. I had 4 foot so it's only in the ground about 6 inches. 5. Slide the largest pot onto the rebar through the drain hole. This will be your base. Fill it with soil and plants. 6. Slide the next pot (a smaller one) onto the rebar through the drain hole. This one you will rest at an angle in the soil of the bottom pot and against the lip. Fill with soil and plants. 7. Slide the next pot on, the angles are achieved by using the rebar to "hold" through the hole and using the pot below to balance. Add soil and flowers as you go, it's much easier than trying to add them at the end. 8. The top pot should just fit onto the rebar, with the top being about 2 inches below the lip of the pot. It's easy peasy! See this and all my other projects and follow me on Pinterest! I found the original pin here. http://pinterest.com/pin/285204588872656160/